thy Face fhall I be hid; i. e. from the im- SERM. mediate Prefence of God as heretofore, XI. and I fhall be a Fugitive and Vagabond in the Earth, and it shall come to pass, that every one, that findeth me, fhall flay me: But from this he was preferv'd, and accordingly a Mark was fet upon him, left any finding him should kill him. What that Mark was, tho' there are many Conjectures about it, which are of little Ufe, unless it be to fhew the Folly of those who make them, is not material; whatever it was we find it was fomething that prevented People from killing him; and this is all the Account we have, or need have concerning it.

Having thus fhewn, that every Sin calls to Heaven for Vengeance; and that the Sins that are of a Heinous Nature, fuch as Murder, do fo in a more extraordinary manner, let us fee now,

Secondly, What proper Obfervations are to be made upon it. And Firft, we may obferve the Goodnefs and Juftice of God, in that he will not fuffer the leaft Evil to go without its Compensation; that Punishment shall be the fure Confequence of Sin, which if it does not overtake a Man in this Life, upon account of the many Imperfections and Chances that attend the State of things, tho' it will always have its Chance for being punish'd

SERM punish'd here, which is all that Time XI. can give it, and a Certainty of it in Eternity there will furely be; and therefore tho' the Evil does go unpunish'd in this Life, tho' here below the Wicked triumph and the Ungodly profper, yet as this is not always the Cafe, fo when it happens to be fo, it is not the Confequence of any Male-Adminiftration in God, but of the Imperfection of the prefent State of things, which cannot be perfected but in Eternity.

But there are fome, who are fo far from thinking that there is any thing wrong in a Sinner's not being punish'd in this Life, that they rather incline on the contrary to think it inconfiftent with the Goodnefs of God to punish any Man at all, either here or hereafter; as if Juftice was fomewhat contrary to Goodness; and Goodness was bound to relieve the Punishment that Injuftice did inflict; whereas these things are all one in God, and only become different, as they are by us differently apprehended. For to punish the Evil is to do it as much Good as belongs to it; as to reward the Good is to render it the Juftice that is due to it. To an absoJute Being these things are the fame: To Reason, Truth, Juftice, and Goodness are all one, and the fame thing: And in this View to fhew Goodness to a Being is to fhew it Juftice and Truth;

and

and to fhew Truth is to fhew Juftice SERM. and Goodness, and so on: To the Senfe XI. they are not fo, for that reprefents them in different Lights, to one Faculty they are one thing, to another another, and fo on. To Pity, a Man is an Object of Mercy; to Refentment, an Object of Juftice; and to Love, an Object of Goodness: So that upon the whole it is not inconfiftent with the Goodnefs of God to punish Evil, any more than it is inconfiftent with his Juftice to reward Good; if it was, then it would follow that there is no Difference in things, and that Good and Evil are the fame.

Secondly, If every Sin calls to Heaven for Vengeance, this may teach us the Malignancy of it, and fhew how cautious we ought to be of committing it; for tho' we may have a thousand Chances for escaping Punishment from Men, yet we have no Chance against God; it is all Certainty there. Let us therefore upon the Commiffion of it be fure to be early in feeking God by Repentance; for that, as it is a making Reparation to Juftice, will ftand between us and Vengeance, and take off the Violence of the Blow : It will plead for us as Abraham did for Sodom; whereas an obftinate Impenitency is not only a denying of all Justice, and the Truth of things, but alfo a deny

ing

SERM. ing of a Deity, or which is much the XI. fame, denying that he has any thing to

do in the Government of the World ; and because the Way to prevent great Sins is to avoid fmall ones, let us rather guard againft that which we think the moft minute: and inconfiderable, left for want of being kept under they borrow Strength from Indulgence, and grow at laft unconquerable. As to the particular Sin of Murder a Man cannot come at it without wading thro' a deal of Malice, Envy, Hatred, &c. These Avenues are therefore in the firft Place to be taken Care of, as they deferve our most serious Confideration. That Abel found Favour with God, when Cain could not, was the first thing that stirr'd up his Envy, which for want of being check'd, foon took Malice and other Companions to its Affiftance and at length broke out into the deadly Crime mention'd in the Text. If at any time then we find this to be the Cafe, that things go better with other People than ourselves, let, our Anger begin at home, and be employ'd upon the Evil of our own Hearts, to which it properly belongs; and let us, before we envy others, deferve better ourselves. Which that we may all do, God of his infinite Mercy grant for the fake of Jefus Chrift, &c.

SER

SERMON XII.

ACTS xxiv. 25.

As he reafoned of Righteoufnefs, and Temperance, and Judgment to come, Felix trembled, and anfwered, Go thy way for this Time, when I have a convenient Seafon I will call for thee.

Ighteoufnefs, and Temperance, and SERM. R Judgment to come, are very un- XII. welcome Doctrines to a Sinner a Sinner n

that has not loft all Senfe of Shame

and Remorfe, and especially the laft of these. For what Pleafure can he, who has been always accuftom'd to indulge his Defires and Appetites, poffibly take in hearing Lectures upon Temperance and Righteousness, that are fo oppofite to this. Certainly these Sounds must be very grating to a fenfual Ear, especially fince there is to be an After-Reckoning for thefe Things, where Punish

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